The Hindu : First day's play washed out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

First day's play washed out

KANDY MAY 3. Umpires, confronted with a soggy outfield, called off the opening day's play in the second and final Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Saturday without a ball being bowled.

Within five minutes of their arrival at Kandy's Asgiriya Stadium, Australian umpires Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel decided play would be impossible. It was called off after a brief consultation with match referee G.R. Viswanath of India.

``It looks bad... we're dealing with international cricket here,'' said Harper. ``We couldn't even contemplate playing club cricket here.

``The pitch looks good, but the outfield has just taken too much moisture,'' he said. Harper said one look at the ground and he was convinced it was no point doing any further inspection, as things were not likely to improve drastically. ``Common sense and experience told us there was no possibility of cricket today,'' Harper said. ``We can only hope for the best tomorrow.'' Kandy have been hit by a wet spell for the past week, with heavy showers.

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